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Burton declaring for NBA draft, maintaining eligibility

Still think Tyler’s weakness is his ball handling which needs improvement to come up
to NBA standards. He has the athleticism, rebounding, shooting and movement without
the ball. I hear several say he needs to work on defense but Tyler was one of our best at
moving his feet and taking a charge. May be in eyes of scouts, he is just not flashy or dynamic
enough. Harper went second round but Justin may have been slightly more consistent than Tyler.
Agree with the ball handling and I think still needs to be able to beat people off the dribble which he hasn't shown the ability to do it consistently. Improve lateral quickness too. He may be the best at taking charges but for me that doesn't make you good at defense. I really think it is a "want to" at defense with TB. He has all the tools to be a great defender. TB has all the tools to make the league for sure.
 
Still think Tyler’s weakness is his ball handling which needs improvement to come up
to NBA standards. He has the athleticism, rebounding, shooting and movement without
the ball. I hear several say he needs to work on defense but Tyler was one of our best at
moving his feet and taking a charge. May be in eyes of scouts, he is just not flashy or dynamic
enough. Harper went second round but Justin may have been slightly more consistent than Tyler.
I think Harper's a great story for Tyler to look at. Harper was improving but no where near as good as Tyler after 3 Richmond seasons. Coming back for his final season put him in position to be drafted. he made a huge jump that year.
he never stuck in the NBA, but he's had a long successful career and is lighting it up in Japan at 32 years old. he averaged 19 & 8 this year.
 
"could be a weapon as an NBA small ball 4"
yet some Spider fans don't think he can play the 4 in the A10.
 
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"could be a weapon as an NBA small ball 4"
yet some Spider fans don't think he can play the 4 in the A10.
I would trust some of us on this board more than these NBA draftniks and scouts, just like in any field some of them are more wrong than the novices.

That was Harp's problem at 6'9 - he was too small to guard 4's and not quick enough to guard 3's - a classic tweener.

Tyler is more athletic. I guess Grant Williams plays some 4 at 6'6 so you never know.
 
I think Harper's a great story for Tyler to look at. Harper was improving but no where near as good as Tyler after 3 Richmond seasons. Coming back for his final season put him in position to be drafted. he made a huge jump that year.
he never stuck in the NBA, but he's had a long successful career and is lighting it up in Japan at 32 years old. he averaged 19 & 8 this year.
But, there is really no comparison because Harper, like you said, was not close to Tyler after year 3. Tyler is coming off of years averaging 12 points and 7.6 rebounds and 16 points and 7.7 rebounds, is a big time athlete, had plenty of scouts watch him this year, and was showing up on draft boards. Justin was coming off of years averaging 9 points and 4.6 rebounds and 10 points and 5.4 rebounds, didn't have nearly the scouts watching him his junior year, and was not on any draft boards. No question, Justin exploded his senior year, which put him on the radar and got him drafted. Averaging 18 and 7, and shooting an amazing 45% from 3 at 6'10 will certainly help get you drafted. :)
 
"could be a weapon as an NBA small ball 4"
yet some Spider fans don't think he can play the 4 in the A10.
You know how I feel about it. I would be fine with 4 guards out there at times. Tyler could absolutely be a small ball "4". We just saw Dallas and Phoenix play a 7 game series with both teams starting forwards no taller than 6'7. Crowder, Bridges, Bullock, and Finney-Smith are exactly who Tyler should compare himself to. It goes back to my saying the 4 position really doesn't even exist anymore. You want some size there, but the days of having to start a power forward type are long gone.
 
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Still think Tyler’s weakness is his ball handling which needs improvement to come up
to NBA standards. He has the athleticism, rebounding, shooting and movement without
the ball. I hear several say he needs to work on defense but Tyler was one of our best at
moving his feet and taking a charge. May be in eyes of scouts, he is just not flashy or dynamic
enough. Harper went second round but Justin may have been slightly more consistent than Tyler.
Harper was a little different, he was bigger - probably looked at as a stretch 4 to start, and maybe could move him to a 3 spot with more practice and ballhandling. But it never happened. He was a decent shooter, but struggled a bit from NBA line and never got the chance really - which is big in the NBA. When your talking 2nd round and undrafted free agents, these are probably a lot of 2nd unit and bench players to start their careers. There is very little difference between player 78 and 95 in terms of undrafted/2nd round players. BUT - sometimes you just need some playing time and a chance to show what you can do.

The only thing that has helped these guys the past few years is the super team setups where teams pay max or big money deals to 3-4 players. That eats up most of the salary and result, they need 3-5 minimum salary players to round out roster. That helps guys in G-League and coming out of college looking for spot - because they are the cheapest option.
 
I am surprised they didn’t list his ball handling. He loses his handle on the ball quite often, he usually gets it back, but ruins his momentum.
I can't remember where I read it but they did mention ball handling.
 
To be taken in the draft from the A-10, a player has to be able to take over a game and dominate it. He has to drop 20+ night, consistently, regardless of the defenses thrown at him. Only John Newman had that capability.
 
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To be taken in the draft from the A-10, a player has to be able to take over a game and dominate it. He has to drop 20+ night, consistently, regardless of the defenses thrown at him. Only John Newman had that capability.
You guys have seen a lot more A10 than me...but I don't know if I can agree with this. I think today's league is different. Its about your potential. If we look at Bones, yeah he avg 19 ppg his last yr but only 9 the previous...as a body of work 13.5 ppg. Regardless of how people on this board thought about his game and even mocked him for some saying he was a pro, to me he is an NBA modern day prospect...6'3 170 lbs at VCU with tons of skill but he also had all the tools. I also realize there have only been about 11 or 12 guys drafted since 2010 and only 3-4 of them have kept a place in the league. I just don't think you have to dominate the A10 to get drafted but it helps for sure 😀
 
You guys have seen a lot more A10 than me...but I don't know if I can agree with this. I think today's league is different. Its about your potential. If we look at Bones, yeah he avg 19 ppg his last yr but only 9 the previous...as a body of work 13.5 ppg. Regardless of how people on this board thought about his game and even mocked him for some saying he was a pro, to me he is an NBA modern day prospect...6'3 170 lbs at VCU with tons of skill but he also had all the tools. I also realize there have only been about 11 or 12 guys drafted since 2010 and only 3-4 of them have kept a place in the league. I just don't think you have to dominate the A10 to get drafted but it helps for sure 😀
Completely agree - was about to right something similar .. Bones didn't meet the old standard but was about as impressive this year as any A10 rookie has been in the last 20 years.
 
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I give it 80% we will be back, which gives him the highest probability of having a long career in the NBA. He has probably impressed a lot of NBA teams that think he is close, but needs some fining tuning. Next year he could be a 1st round pick if he has a breakout season. His other options are:

1. Play overseas. Very few of these players get drafted. He would have to dominated his league.
2. G-league. Better than overseas, but still a difficult road.
3. Low 2nd round pick in NBA. This does not put him in a strong position. Many of these players never make it on a team and if they do most have pretty short careers.

Tyler have improved each year at U of R and I expect him to be back with a good chance on winning the A10 POY.
 
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I give it 80% we will be back, which gives him the highest probability of having a long career in the NBA. He has probably impressed a lot of NBA teams that think he is close, but needs some fining tuning. Next year he could be a 1st round pick if he has a breakout season. His other options are:

1. Play overseas. Very few of these players get drafted. He would have to dominated his league.
2. G-league. Better than overseas, but still a difficult road.
3. Low 2nd round pick in NBA. This does not put him in a strong position. Many of these players never make it on a team and if they do most have pretty short careers.

Tyler have improved each year at U of R and I expect him to be back with a good chance on winning the A10 POY.
The question maybe where does he go to get that “fine tuning”. Will that be under Mooney, or in Europe, or the G league.
 
To be taken in the draft from the A-10, a player has to be able to take over a game and dominate it. He has to drop 20+ night, consistently, regardless of the defenses thrown at him. Only John Newman had that capability.
Not really. DeAndre Bembry comes to mind. 1st round pick in 2016. Averaged 17 a game, but scored 20 or more in only 10 of 36 games his final year at St Joe's. If you are good enough, you are good enough. The NBA doesn't care what conference you played in.
 
Not sure that it matters but not mentioned (that I could see) in the latest ESPN two round mock draft. Get that going pro can mean other options than the NBA but would be tough.
 
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